UGA MBB
Next Opponent: St. John’s
NYP: St. John’s finding groove from 3-point land after early struggles
NASSAU, Bahamas — The biggest surprise through two-thirds of St. John’s trip to The Bahamas has been the Johnnies’ 3-point shooting.
A perceived weakness entering the season was a strength in the double-overtime loss to No. 13 Baylorand rout of Virginia.
No. 22 St. John’s is 24-for-48 from distance, and is now shooting a robust 39.3 percent from deep in six games this year.
The 24 attempts in the two games in the Baha Mar Hoops Championship were up from the Red Storm’s 21.7 average over the first four contests.
“We put in the work behind closed doors. We shoot 3’s every day. As you can see right now, after practice there’s multiple people working on their 3’s,” said senior wing Aaron Scott, who is shooting 40 percent from distance on the season. “Really, I don’t think anybody can guard us one-on-one. We got Kadary [Richmond], Deivon [Smith], RJ [Luis], Simeon [Wilcher]. They all beat their defenders one-on-one and find open people like me and Brady [Dunlap], spot-up, knockdown shooters. We’re just waiting for the ball. We know they’re going to find us and we know they’re going to beat their man one-on-one and the other team will have to help off of us.”
In St. John’s (5-1) first four games at Carnesecca Arena and the Garden, it averaged 7.2 made 3-pointers.
In this tournament, the Red Storm have hit 12 per game.
Maybe the Johnnies should play more games in a ballroom like this one.
After games on back-to-back nights, you might assume that coach Rick Pitino would give his players a breather.
Well, think again.
After watching the Georgia-Marquette game together on Saturday ahead of the matchup with the SEC school on Sunday, Pitino put his players through a two-hour practice.
“I was kind of surprised,” Richmond said. “We got after it, though. I feel good. No walk-throughs really [here].”
Dunlap (hip) practiced on Saturday.
The hope is he will be available Sunday.
He was held out of Friday’s win over Virginia.
https://nypost.com/2024/11/24/sport...oove-from-3-point-land-after-early-struggles/
NYP: Kadary Richmond slowly but surely showing he can be ‘one of one’ for St. John’s
NASSAU, Bahamas — “It’s coming, slowly but methodically.
Kadary Richmond is getting there.
He’s showing glimpses of the dominant figure he was at Seton Hall.
There was the more aggressive performance in a win over New Mexico, his clutch play to force multiple overtimes in the loss to No. 13 Baylorbefore cramps shut him down for the second extra session, and his efficient effort in the blowout of Virginia.
“Starting to get comfortable picking my spots,” the 6-foot-6 lead guard said on Saturday, as St. John’s prepared to face Georgia on Sunday to end this challenging trip to The Bahamas. “I’m playing with a lot of talented guys who also have the ball in their hands, so just adjusting to that.”
Over the last three games, Richmond is averaging 13.3 points, 5.3 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 2.3 steals, numbers more along the lines of how he performed a year ago.
He’s been more assertive at both ends of the floor, not as passive as he was out of the gate, finding the right balance between getting his teammates involved and taking charge himself.
“He’s one of one,” teammate Aaron Scott said. “He’s an All-American for a reason. Nobody can really guard him one-on-one. He makes everybody around him better. That’s what a point guard is supposed to do.
That’s Kadary — he’s going to step it up when it’s time to step it up.”
This is obviously still new for the All-American — new teammates, new coaching staff, new school.
He’s never been surrounded by so much talent at this level.
Everything ran through him at Seton Hall.
That doesn’t have to be the case for No. 22 St. John’s to be successful.
He’s sharing ballhandling duties with another point guard, Deivon Smith, and sometimes is playing off the ball.
“It was rough because we really didn’t get much practice reps together because we were switching teams and stuff,” Richmond said. “But once we kept it consistent and started playing with each other more, I feel it’s helping for all of us.”
It remains an adjustment, along with his jump shot.
Richmond is still working to get the hitch out of his shot. In practice, you don’t see it, but in games it has been there at times.
He has attempted nine 3s so far, making three.
“I’m about 40-50 percent with my mechanics, changing it,” he said. “I feel good about it though, it’s going well. I just have to get more attempts up. … I try not to [revert back to my old form], but at times it happens. With more reps and more attempts, I think I’ll feel much more comfortable and [get] a lot more attempts and a lot more makes.”
Overall, Richmond is pleased with St. John’s 5-1 start.
They are further along at this point than he expected.
The response to the Baylor loss was impressive, a sign of this group’s toughness when facing adversity.
It has a chance to head home feeling really good about itself by beating Georgia on Sunday before a six-day break.
“It’s a lot of fun, a lot of talented, high-flying guys, a lot of dunking going on, a lot of sharing the ball,” Richmond said. “We’re just showing we’re getting more comfortable playing together and we handled adversity well the other day with that tough loss to Baylor. We’re showing that we’re resilient and that we’re a pretty good team and we can play with anybody.”
https://nypost.com/2024/11/23/sport...ly-showing-he-can-be-one-of-one-for-st-johns/
Next Opponent: St. John’s
NYP: St. John’s finding groove from 3-point land after early struggles
NASSAU, Bahamas — The biggest surprise through two-thirds of St. John’s trip to The Bahamas has been the Johnnies’ 3-point shooting.
A perceived weakness entering the season was a strength in the double-overtime loss to No. 13 Baylorand rout of Virginia.
No. 22 St. John’s is 24-for-48 from distance, and is now shooting a robust 39.3 percent from deep in six games this year.
The 24 attempts in the two games in the Baha Mar Hoops Championship were up from the Red Storm’s 21.7 average over the first four contests.
“We put in the work behind closed doors. We shoot 3’s every day. As you can see right now, after practice there’s multiple people working on their 3’s,” said senior wing Aaron Scott, who is shooting 40 percent from distance on the season. “Really, I don’t think anybody can guard us one-on-one. We got Kadary [Richmond], Deivon [Smith], RJ [Luis], Simeon [Wilcher]. They all beat their defenders one-on-one and find open people like me and Brady [Dunlap], spot-up, knockdown shooters. We’re just waiting for the ball. We know they’re going to find us and we know they’re going to beat their man one-on-one and the other team will have to help off of us.”
In St. John’s (5-1) first four games at Carnesecca Arena and the Garden, it averaged 7.2 made 3-pointers.
In this tournament, the Red Storm have hit 12 per game.
Maybe the Johnnies should play more games in a ballroom like this one.
After games on back-to-back nights, you might assume that coach Rick Pitino would give his players a breather.
Well, think again.
After watching the Georgia-Marquette game together on Saturday ahead of the matchup with the SEC school on Sunday, Pitino put his players through a two-hour practice.
“I was kind of surprised,” Richmond said. “We got after it, though. I feel good. No walk-throughs really [here].”
Dunlap (hip) practiced on Saturday.
The hope is he will be available Sunday.
He was held out of Friday’s win over Virginia.
https://nypost.com/2024/11/24/sport...oove-from-3-point-land-after-early-struggles/
NYP: Kadary Richmond slowly but surely showing he can be ‘one of one’ for St. John’s
NASSAU, Bahamas — “It’s coming, slowly but methodically.
Kadary Richmond is getting there.
He’s showing glimpses of the dominant figure he was at Seton Hall.
There was the more aggressive performance in a win over New Mexico, his clutch play to force multiple overtimes in the loss to No. 13 Baylorbefore cramps shut him down for the second extra session, and his efficient effort in the blowout of Virginia.
“Starting to get comfortable picking my spots,” the 6-foot-6 lead guard said on Saturday, as St. John’s prepared to face Georgia on Sunday to end this challenging trip to The Bahamas. “I’m playing with a lot of talented guys who also have the ball in their hands, so just adjusting to that.”
Over the last three games, Richmond is averaging 13.3 points, 5.3 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 2.3 steals, numbers more along the lines of how he performed a year ago.
He’s been more assertive at both ends of the floor, not as passive as he was out of the gate, finding the right balance between getting his teammates involved and taking charge himself.
“He’s one of one,” teammate Aaron Scott said. “He’s an All-American for a reason. Nobody can really guard him one-on-one. He makes everybody around him better. That’s what a point guard is supposed to do.
That’s Kadary — he’s going to step it up when it’s time to step it up.”
This is obviously still new for the All-American — new teammates, new coaching staff, new school.
He’s never been surrounded by so much talent at this level.
Everything ran through him at Seton Hall.
That doesn’t have to be the case for No. 22 St. John’s to be successful.
He’s sharing ballhandling duties with another point guard, Deivon Smith, and sometimes is playing off the ball.
“It was rough because we really didn’t get much practice reps together because we were switching teams and stuff,” Richmond said. “But once we kept it consistent and started playing with each other more, I feel it’s helping for all of us.”
It remains an adjustment, along with his jump shot.
Richmond is still working to get the hitch out of his shot. In practice, you don’t see it, but in games it has been there at times.
He has attempted nine 3s so far, making three.
“I’m about 40-50 percent with my mechanics, changing it,” he said. “I feel good about it though, it’s going well. I just have to get more attempts up. … I try not to [revert back to my old form], but at times it happens. With more reps and more attempts, I think I’ll feel much more comfortable and [get] a lot more attempts and a lot more makes.”
Overall, Richmond is pleased with St. John’s 5-1 start.
They are further along at this point than he expected.
The response to the Baylor loss was impressive, a sign of this group’s toughness when facing adversity.
It has a chance to head home feeling really good about itself by beating Georgia on Sunday before a six-day break.
“It’s a lot of fun, a lot of talented, high-flying guys, a lot of dunking going on, a lot of sharing the ball,” Richmond said. “We’re just showing we’re getting more comfortable playing together and we handled adversity well the other day with that tough loss to Baylor. We’re showing that we’re resilient and that we’re a pretty good team and we can play with anybody.”
https://nypost.com/2024/11/23/sport...ly-showing-he-can-be-one-of-one-for-st-johns/
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